Wide Bay offenders who committed crimes behind bars

Not all criminals stop committing offences just because they are behind bars. Here are the Wide Bay men who have continued to offend while locked up and will soon be back on our streets.

For some, committing crimes doesn't end once they’re behind bars.

The Fraser Coast Chronicle recently revealed how domestic violence offenders in particular were often able to still reach their victims from within the walls of Maryborough jail and other Queensland prisons.

One man had made 34 calls to his and was able to speak to her and their children while another had also contacted his former partner with the calls containing threats of violence and to damage property.

A spokesman from Queensland Corrective Services said systems were in place monitoring prisoner phone calls and mail to try to prevent such incidents.

“Protecting the victims of crime from further trauma is a priority for Queensland Corrective Services, and we have a range of processes in place to try to prevent prisoners from contacting their victims,” he said.

“If QCS finds information suggesting a prisoner has contacted a victim unlawfully, this information is referred to the Queensland Police Service for investigation and possible further charges.

“Outgoing prisoner mail is stamped with a correctional facility stamp so that recipients can, if necessary, refuse to open the mail and return to sender.

“We presently manage more than 9300 prisoners in prisons across Queensland, more prisoners than at any time in the history of Queensland.

“This adds to the complexity of our challenge in managing this behaviour, however where prisoners attempt to circumvent these processes, by using third parties to pass on messages or letters for instance, we work with the aggrieved and Queensland Police to address the behaviour.”

Here are some of the many other Wide Bay criminals who have been convicted of offences committed while still in custody.

M’boro home invader threw urine during prison riot

A violent offender, who threw urine at officers during a prison riot while on remand for a disturbing home invasion, will walk free from jail later this year.

Braiddyn Robert Cleland, 23, pleaded guilty in Maryborough District Court on Monday to a number of charges including burglary, wilful damage, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and assault.

The court heard Cleland had been on remand in Woodford Correctional Centre for a violent home invasion when the riot happened.

The Maryborough man had gone to another man‘s home, supposedly to discuss a toolbox that had been stolen in an effort to clear his name.

Braiddyn Robert Cleland, 23, pleaded guilty to a number of charges when he appeared before Maryborough Magistrates Court this week.

But when he broke into the house about 3am, Cleland made threats towards the victim‘s 91- year-old mother before using a torch to violently assault the man.

The victim suffered multiple skull fractures in the attack, as well as black eyes and a bleeding ear.

The court was told Cleland started using drugs at 14 after he started associating with the wrong people.

He suffered from complex post-traumatic stress disorder and had been seeing a prison psychiatrist since he had been incarcerated.

He had completed courses while in prison and intended to live with his mother when he was released.

Cleland was given a head sentence of six years, four and half years for the home invasion and one a half years for the riot.

A parole eligibility date was set for November 27, 2021.

‘Filthy rat’: Man’s abusive messages to victim from jail

In a series of phone calls made to his estranged partner while he was behind bars, a man called her a “maggot” and a “s**t”, and accused her of being “too busy with her new boyfriend” to talk to him.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to one count of contravening a domestic violence order when he appeared before Maryborough Magistrates Court via videolink.

The court heard the man made a series of calls on May 4 while he was a prisoner at Capricornia Correctional Centre, several of which went to voicemail.

He left a number of abusive messages, including where he called the woman a “filthy rat”.

When he later spoke to the woman, she allowed him to speak to his daughter, but he used the call to continue to ask harassing questions, the court heard.

He asked his young daughter to ask his partner if she was “over daddy now, are we finished?”

The man then asked his daughter if “any blokes had been around,” to which she replied “no”.

Magistrate Graham Hillan said the comments the man made to his partner were “terrible”.

“I can’t believe she’s still lending her support to you after copping that abuse,” he said.

Mr Hillan said the man continually ignored orders made by police, namely the domestic violence orders.

“Courts expect orders to be complied with,” he said.

The man was sentenced to 12 months in prison with parole eligibility set for November 1.

“If you keep on reoffending, you will spend a lot of time in custody,” Mr Hillan said.

Bay meth kingpin busted with drugs in prison cell

A hidden stash of drugs was discovered in the jail cell of a Hervey Bay man who was last year sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking.

Daryl David Hall, 34, pleaded guilty in Maryborough Magistrates Court to one count of possessing dangerous drugs.

The court heard the convicted drug trafficker, who built a drug empire in Hervey Bay, was busted with 32 Subutex strips after a search of his cell.

Daryl David Hall posted this photo on Facebook, in which he is pictured holding gun which was seized as part of the search.

The court heard the father of five had been previously subjected to sexual abuse.

He would become eligible for parole on July 7 this year, the court was told.

Acting Magistrate John Milburn sentenced Hall to six months, wholly suspended, with an operational period of two years.

Man pleads guilty to child grooming while behind bars

A 20-year-old Caboolture man has admitted to grooming a minor for sex, allegedly while behind bars.

Jackson Finselbach appeared in Gympie Magistrates Court from Woodford Correctional Centre, where he pleaded guilty to procuring a young person for carnal knowledge and grooming a child under 16 to engage in a sexual act.

Jackson Finselbach in 2019, aged 18. Photo: Facebook

Finselbach hung his head low as he pleaded to the crimes which police say occurred while he was in jail.

Police prosecutor Melissa Campbell told the court the victim was a 14-year-old girl and the offences took place twice in 2020, once on November 13, and once between November 20 and December 11.

The court had also heard police could not prove the child was on the other end of the phone during the alleged calls or how old she was, but Finselbach knew she was under 16.

He was remanded in custody and his matter was transferred to the Brisbane Magistrates Court, where he will appear for sentencing.

Death threats, fires amid dinner dispute at jail

A dispute over dinner at the Maryborough jail turned into a riot that cost taxpayers $68,000.

Joshua Leonard John Watson-Scully, 24, pleaded guilty in Maryborough District Court to one charge of riot.

The court heard Watson Scully was housed in a secure unit on October 27, 2018 when, about, 4.30pm prisoners started complaining about the food.

One prisoner jumped onto the trolley, the court was told and Watson Scully refused to go to his cell.

The prisoners were directed into the exercise yard.

There Watson Scully threw a rowing machine against the ground several times and used a broom handle to smash the window of the officers‘ station.

The court heard he lit bits of paper from an existing fire and threw them through the window.

Part of the riot was shown on CCTV footage to the court.

The footage captured the actions of some of the prisoners involved, including Watson-Scully, before wet toilet paper was placed over the camera to obscure the view.

Joshua Leonard John Watson-Scully, 20. Photo: Contributed

The court was told Watson-Scully wanted to be a contributing member of society.

When he was 15, a relative on his father‘s side introduced him to meth, the court was told.

He had been a talented rugby league player but developed his own drug problems and had resulting issues with his behaviour.

But Watson-Scully still enjoyed sport and wanted to rejoin the sporting community upon his release from prison.

He was hoping to get an apprenticeship in the construction industry, the court was told.

Judge David Reid said Watson-Scully had an “extremely worrying” criminal history.

He urged him to focus on sport and finding work upon his release.

He sentenced Watson-Scully to 18 months in prison, with a parole eligibility date of October 22, 2021.

‘What’d they think was going to happen?’ Paedo basher defends breaking cellmate’s jaw

“They put me in a cell with him – what did they think was going to happen?”

Those were the words of Leonard James Stanley, 33, after he broke another man’s jaw while in the watch-house at Hervey Bay Police Station last year.

He had realised, while sitting in the cell, he recognised the other man as a convicted child sex offender.

A brief discussion occurred between the men before Stanley punched him in the face.

Stanley pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm when he appeared before Hervey Bay District Court.

The court heard the other man had to have surgery after the attack.

Leonard James Stanley was in court for grievous bodily harm.

Stanley had ongoing issues with drugs and violence and it was just two months into a period of parole that he had committed the offence.

The time Stanley had spent in custody was said to have been made more onerous due to COVID restrictions which had limited visitation from his family and child.

He had attended a substance abuse program while in custody, as well as a resilience course.

There were currently lengthy delays in processing parole applications, which could extend Stanley’s time in prison when he became eligible, the court was told.

Stanley was sentenced to two and a half years in prison with a parole eligibility date set for October 18, 2021.

Court hears details of inmate’s violent attack on fellow prisoner

A father of four who pleaded guilty to a string of offences in Bundaberg Magistrates Court was told his violent attack on a fellow prison inmate was the most serious of them all.

Joshua Clayton Wimbis, 31, appeared by video link from the Maryborough Correctional Centre, tapping the table and looking visibly bored as the details of his offending were read out.

The court heard Wimbis had been serving time in Woodford Correctional Centre for an attempted robbery when he was released on parole, subsequently residing in Caboolture.

Wimbis’s lawyer Gavin James said the accused then travelled to Bundaberg because he hadn’t seen his children in two-and-a-half years and had suffered the death of a family friend in the region.

The visit to Bundaberg resulted in a range of charges including failing to properly dispose of a needle and syringe, obstructing a police officer, possessing property suspected of having been used in the commission of a drug offence, possessing dangerous drugs, driving without a licence and evasion.

Joshua Clayton Wimbis.

“He’s arrived in Bundaberg and unfortunately he’s come to the attention of police and he’s then panicked and taken off from the police which is the obstruct and then he was found to have those drug implements in his possession,” Mr James said.

Wimbis’s lawyer said the accused was willing to plead guilty and take ownership of his offending in Bundaberg.

Picked up on a return to prison warrant, Wimbis was remanded in custody at Maryborough Correctional Centre when he assaulted a fellow inmate.

The court heard Wimbis believed he was going to be the victim of a premeditated attack by a group of men in his prison unit and decided to strike first after informing a prison officer of his fears.

“He thought the best thing to do in that situation was, essentially, to get in first,” Mr James said.

The court heard Wimbis had approached the man he believed was organising an assault against him, who replied that he did not want to fight.

Wimbis then used a crutch to strike the victim, hitting him in the head and hand, resulting in a scuffle between the men which had to be broken up by a prison officer.

In sentencing, Acting Magistrate John Milburn said the victim was taken to hospital after the “premeditated” attack where he needed four staples to treat a large, bleeding gash on his head.

Originally published as Wide Bay offenders who committed crimes behind bars